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Frank made a great site even better. As a father of two kids, it's amazing to me how difficult it is to keep both my kids wary and watchful. As parents we should train our kids, but as a nation we should all watch out for each other's well being. Kids first.

Amber alerts are alerts put up immediately on road signs whenever someone has been abducted or kidnapped. They ususally include information like car model, license numbers or anything available that would help motorists recognize a particular vehicle. If someone sees the vehicle in question, they can immediately notify police and they can quickly apprehend them.

It is called an Amber alert because of a case of an abduction of a child named "Amber" who if memory serves me wasn't one of the lucky ones.

The Origin of the Amber Plan[/b]The AMBER Plan was created in 1996 as a powerful legacy to 9-year-old Amber Hagerman, a bright little girl who was kidnapped and brutally murdered while riding her bicycle in Arlington, Texas. The tragedy shocked and outraged the entire community. Residents contacted radio stations in the Dallas area and suggested they broadcast special “alerts” over the airwaves so that they could help prevent such incidents in the future.

In response to the community’s concern for the safety of local children, the Dallas/Fort Worth Association of Radio Managers teamed up with local law-enforcement agencies in northern Texas and developed this innovative early warning system to help find abducted children. Statistics show that, when abducted, a child’s greatest enemy is time.

In April, 2003, President Bush signed the Amber Alert legislation making it a national program. A full year has passed since the Amber Alert law was enacted. While the Amber Alert system is now mandated across the country, some states are still trying to implement the procedures necessary in bringing the alerts to the public. Hampered by outdated Emergency Broadcast guidelines and different activation criteria in each state, the system needs a fair amount of fine-tuning to be optimally effective. Code Amber is on the cutting edge with the technology helping to make that a reality.

.........................................We now have the Amber Alerts running at the bottom of the Forums pages. It automatically updates itself if their is a new alert.

As well as being used for a person's name, "amber" is used to describe a yellow/orange color that is used in traffic lights ... green (Go), red (Stop), and amber (Caution). Amber is the name used for the translucent yellow/orange rock produced as tree sap petrifies. (This mineral amber played an important role in the Spielberg movie "Jurrasic Park" ... won't go into more detail here. )

So the phrase "Amber Alert" has a double meaning, which makes it stick out in peoples' minds.

I'm new here today (but have lurked for awhile). This amber alert system is useful (Wish it were international). And I see this Texas alert is now cancelled. Perhaps someone can address this: When an alert is cancelled is there ever a explanation given for its cancellation, e.g. "This girl is now home with her parents?" I'm curious.

The amber alert for the 5 year old Topeka girl kidnapped by her father Wednesday ended less than half a day after it was issued when the car was spotted by a trucker in SE Wyoming and the girl was safely recovered.

...

That was the good news. The sad news was that both her parents are now dead, the mother killed by the father and the father suiciding later. What powerful scars this will leave on her.

These Amber Alert postings are a great idea. Thanks, Frank. The recent New York story, in the other thread, has been on the local news.

Although some of these child kidnappings are vengeful strikes by one partner against another, I just cannot get my brain around the wackos who use children for their sexual gratification and then, sometimes, kill them. I have not even the BEGINNING of a way to understand this, not to say that it's understandable.

Maybe I should google that question to find out how psychiatrists explain that behavior.

Quoted:...Although some of these child kidnappings are vengeful strikes by one partner against another, I just cannot get my brain around the wackos who use children for their sexual gratification and then, sometimes, kill them. I have not even the BEGINNING of a way to understand this, not to say that it's understandable....

Oh dear... I hope that boy is gonna be alright and nobody gets hurt in such an unpleasant situation.I can't even imagine how it feels like to lose your precious child... I don't even want to think about it.This Amber Alert thing is really a great idea, and is a good example of how modern technology should be put to beneficial use.Though the origin of the Amber Alert is really saddening. Poor girl, poor parents.